What’s It Going to Take for Us to Dump the Tests? — Grow Beyond Grades

As schools reconvened on Thursday, January 7, many teachers faced two tasks: helping students make sense of yet another traumatizing “day after”—and getting them prepared for end-of-semester tests.

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Going Gradeless Requires Both Addition and Subtraction — Grow Beyond Grades

Although most gradeless teachers engage in “subtraction,” removing traditional grading from our classrooms, we also need “addition” in the form of new infrastructure that connects our individual effor...

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"Do No Harm" with More Equitable and Motivating Grading Practices — Grow Beyond Grades

“Our grading practices haven’t changed much from when I was graded, to when my son was graded, to now,” writes Patti Forster. “Grades are still used as rewards and consequences to compare students, an...

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Why I Gave Up Grading — Grow Beyond Grades

Now, in my 24th year of teaching, I am the teacher I always wanted to be. I have strong relationships, my learners are engaged in the curriculum, and I feel I am making a lasting impact on their lives...

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Want to Go Gradeless? Here's How We Do It — Grow Beyond Grades

Grades are so much a part of our own learning experiences and the tools available to teachers today it might be hard to imagine your school without grades. But a it’s possible—and powerful—when you ca...

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Differentiated Assessment w/Rick Wormeli — Grow Beyond Grades

In this episode of TG2Chat LIVE! well known educator and author, Rick Wormeli, discusses how educators can better communicate learning with students and stakeholders.

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Asset-based Assessment is Equitable Assessment — Grow Beyond Grades

Although I always valued students’ improvement over time, the way I was assessing didn’t support those values. I said I valued process, but my vision was on product, which limited the opportunities fo...

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Notch Up Your Nitpicking with Replace/With Pairs — Grow Beyond Grades

In my nitpicking, I spent far too much time bogged down in reiterating past teaching. In my marginal notes and technology-enhanced comments, I was giving a low-quality version of the lesson I’d given ...

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Care at the Core w/Sherri Spelic — Grow Beyond Grades

Sherri Spelic, an elementary physical education teacher at American International School Vienna, shares her experiences and reflections on assessment, as well as how we can create more inclusive, resp...

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Tell Me About You, Not About Your Grades — Grow Beyond Grades

Students using spikeview view their learning as a journey. They see where they have been, can explore what’s next, and make informed decisions on where not to spend time. It’s not a snapshot of one cl...

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Tell Me About You, Not About Your Grades — Grow Beyond Grades

Students using spikeview view their learning as a journey. They see where they have been, can explore what’s next, and make informed decisions on where not to spend time. It’s not a snapshot of one cl...

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Helping Students Own Their Own Narrative w/Ekta Sahasi — Grow Beyond Grades

Ekta Sahasi is the founder of spikeview, a global pre-professional portfolio platform for students and young adults. She is reinventing how Gen-Z represent themselves online, build meaningful networks...

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Children, Learning, and the 'Evaluative Gaze' of School — Grow Beyond Grades

The evaluative gaze of school is so constant a presence, so all-pervasive an eye, that many people have come to believe that children would actually not develop without it. But an oak tree does not re...

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Children, Learning, and the 'Evaluative Gaze' of School — Grow Beyond Grades

The evaluative gaze of school is so constant a presence, so all-pervasive an eye, that many people have come to believe that children would actually not develop without it. But an oak tree does not re...

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Student-led Conferences: The Key to Going Gradeless — Grow Beyond Grades

With student-led conferences, families hear how students are progressing, more than any number or letter could tell them. Families become a part of the process, learning about their child’s interests ...

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Student-led Conferences: The Key to Going Gradeless — Grow Beyond Grades

With student-led conferences, families hear how students are progressing, more than any number or letter could tell them. Families become a part of the process, learning about their child’s interests ...

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Taking Unneeded Anxiety Out of Assessment — Grow Beyond Grades

To counteract the anxiety caused by high-stakes assessments and grades, Nate Bowling invites students to focus on feedback and learning. Life is hard enough for students; assessment practices should n...

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The Case for a Teaching Community — Grow Beyond Grades

We know our students thrive in cultures that welcome, affirm, and challenge them. Lisa Wennerth explains why we need to also model this understanding by creating prosperous professional communities am...

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The Case for a Teaching Community — Grow Beyond Grades

We know our students thrive in cultures that welcome, affirm, and challenge them. Lisa Wennerth explains why we need to also model this understanding by creating prosperous professional communities am...

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Going Gradeless with Students Stuck in the Old System — Grow Beyond Grades

On the first day of class, your introduction to the gradeless classroom doesn’t go as expected. As you field students’ questions and concerns, you feel hurt and frustrated. Going gradeless is supposed...

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Going Gradeless with Students Stuck in the Old System — Grow Beyond Grades

On the first day of class, your introduction to the gradeless classroom doesn’t go as expected. As you field students’ questions and concerns, you feel hurt and frustrated. Going gradeless is supposed...

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Getting Started With "Hover-Free" Teaching — Grow Beyond Grades

Achieving a student-centered instructional model may be challenging. Miriam Plotinsky, author of the book Hover-Free Teaching , offers ways that teachers can foster a culture of shared responsibility...

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Yes, There is Such a Thing as a Bad Question — Grow Beyond Grades

Don’t get me wrong, answering questions and helping students is one of my favorite parts of being a teacher. The problem is that not all questions are created equal and some questions inhibit learning...

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Yes, There is Such a Thing as a Bad Question — Grow Beyond Grades

Don’t get me wrong, answering questions and helping students is one of my favorite parts of being a teacher. The problem is that not all questions are created equal and some questions inhibit learning...

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Go Out on the Branch w/Jay Percell — Grow Beyond Grades

Jay Percell is an Associate Professor of Teaching and Learning at Illinois State University, an author of several academic essays, and a TEDx speaker. Michelle Cottrell-Williams hosts as Jay shares hi...

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The Ungrading Umbrella — Grow Beyond Grades

While there is plenty of variety under the ungrading umbrella, we have more commonalities than differences. We all agree the current system needs to change, and we all recognize the way grading is int...

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The (Un)grading Spectrum — Grow Beyond Grades

Ungrading is more of a philosophy than a single model that says “do this and your students will learn.” Chris Sarkonak explores ungrading as a spectrum of possibilities that moves us away from the har...

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I’m a Learning Booster! — Grow Beyond Grades

When we focus on assessment as a means of communication with and alongside our learners, it leaves space for their inner stories to be told and included. We are building the foundation for student-to-...

growbeyondgrades.org

I’m a Learning Booster! — Grow Beyond Grades

When we focus on assessment as a means of communication with and alongside our learners, it leaves space for their inner stories to be told and included. We are building the foundation for student-to-...

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Averageless: Setting better standards — Grow Beyond Grades

I made a simple but effective change to my explanation of the system: I started referring to these courses as averageless instead of gradeless.

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